Japan and Quasi-Military Alliance?…Opposition Party "Concerns Over Japan's Involvement in Case of Korean Peninsula Emergency"

Kim Byung-joo "A Stepping Stone to Alliance... Like Bringing in a Tiger"
Park Jin "Quad Stronger than AUKUS but Not a Military Alliance"

The Democratic Party of Korea evaluated the outcome of the recent South Korea-U.S.-Japan summit as effectively forming a 'quasi-military alliance' with Japan, criticizing it as a "summit that ignores national interests." While the government claims that trilateral cooperation among South Korea, the U.S., and Japan will reduce security risks, the Democratic Party fears that this summit could deepen the new Cold War dynamics and even lead to Japan’s involvement in contingencies on the Korean Peninsula.

Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Byung-joo stated in a BBS Radio interview, "If the South Korea-U.S.-Japan military cooperation strengthens, Japan will inevitably intervene (in contingencies on the Korean Peninsula)," and assessed that this summit "seems to be a stepping stone toward a military alliance when examined closely."

He continued, "The pledge includes consultations if a threat arises. As a result, Japan will naturally intervene," pointing out, "this is like letting a tiger into your living room." Lawmaker Kim added, "Japan currently claims territorial rights over Dokdo and harbors territorial ambitions," and said, "although they claim to jointly respond to North Korea’s nuclear missiles now, if the situation changes, they will always be looking for opportunities to expand their influence over South Korea."

He expressed concern that, "if it leads to a military alliance with Japan, the Cold War dynamics from 40 years ago will be revived, putting Northeast Asia at risk and making the path toward North Korea’s denuclearization and peaceful unification of the Korean Peninsula increasingly distant."

President Yoon Suk-yeol listens to the remarks of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during the joint press conference of the South Korea-US-Japan leaders held at Camp David, the US presidential retreat near Washington DC, on the 18th (local time). 2023.8.19 [Image source=Yonhap News]

Regarding the assessment of a quasi-military alliance, the government stated that this expression is inappropriate. Foreign Minister Park Jin said in an interview with Yonhap News TV, "It is not a military alliance," and clarified, "This consultation and pledge clearly do not create new obligations or rights under domestic or international law."

Minister Park explained, "The South Korea-U.S. alliance and the U.S.-Japan alliance remain as they are," but added that "by these two alliances strategically aligning, a foundation has been established that can function more powerfully than Quad (Quad: U.S., Japan, Australia, India) and AUKUS (AUKUS: U.S., U.K., Australia security partnership)."

Deputy Foreign Minister Oh Young-joo explained in an SBS Radio interview that the trilateral cooperation among South Korea, the U.S., and Japan is "a much broader cooperative framework than Quad or AUKUS," and said, "there are many working-level consultation groups not only at the summit level but also involving international security advisors, national security advisors, as well as foreign ministers, defense ministers, ministers of trade, industry and energy, and finance ministers."

He added, "It is a kind of consultative body that strengthens cooperation not limited to military issues but also in areas such as economy, advanced technology, development cooperation, health, and women’s issues, and can be seen as a consultative body for problem-solving in the international community."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.